Travel Day - Part Three

I hope that last part makes sense, I couldn’t go back and edit it and I know something was messed up when I tried to change one word. This damn APPLE product. I’ll call them again and see if I can figure out what is going on. I suppose I could use the laptop I’ve brought with me but I’m good with the iPad.

After hitting the three bookstores, I decide to check out Bourbon street. I walk along to the very end of the “entertainment” district and then I turned back and walked down the street. It’s closed to traffic but traffic does cross it so one must be on their toes. There were people on bikes, small motor bikes, and vespas.

The sights, the sounds, the smells - it’s a total body experience. I’m not sure I can even describe it. Here’s one way to visualize some of the people on the street - if any of you read Janet Evanovich and know the character Lulu. Let’s just say that there were MANY of her on the street. It’s an eye opener to say the least. There are shops for voodoo - no photos in the shop please and that’s the only reason I went in - to take photos. DRAT!!!  There are vans selling weed and other goodies right on the street, people are drinking their beers as they walk along the street, the smell of weed permeates the air (something we can look forward to back home in a couple of weeks), cigar smoking is huge, beaded necklaces are huge, staff throwing beads and t-shirts off the balconies into the eager hands below, music blaring from every establishment, and a HUGE section of the street is under construction so the walk was crowded onto the sidewalk.

Let’s see - there were physics who would read your cards or whatever they were doing, one lady had live canaries that she was selling. Sure - I’ll get one of those please - in yellow!  Oh let’s not forget the street performers. Various ages and acts, but the best one is the group (actually there were several groups) of young boys drumming on empty five gallon plastic jugs. It was amazing to see this young boy - he must have been 5 if that and he was counting up a huge roll of bills and putting them in his pocket. It was a HUGE wad and this kid is 5!!!!!

Let’s not forget the heat and the humidity. The streets are old, the buildings are old and every building I went into smelled of mole and mildew or dampness - however you want to put it. I’m not sure that I could live here. It would drive me crazy. Even the large room in the hotel where we’re going to eat - it smells damp. The water doesn’t drain properly on the old streets so there is dirty standing water everywhere. And there are the unsavory characters on Bourbon street. Some are street people, some are just drunk or stoned. There appeared to be lots of parties going on - could be a bridal shower, or a stag or a birthday - it was sometimes hard to tell. The white veil on a girl did give away the bridal shower groups.